Ford Fairlane

A model Ford Fairlane got the name from Henry Ford's estate near Dearborn, Michigan called Fair Lane. The popular model was sold between 1955 and 1970, starting as replacement for the Crestline as Ford's premier public offering.

The Fairlane was initially designed as a full-size car, which was converted to a mid-size car in the 1962.
The first generation offered six different body styles, including the Crown Victoria Skyliner with a tinted, transparent plastic roof and regular Crown Victoria coupe with lots of stainless steel trim.

Also available was the Victoria coupe, a convertible Sunliner and traditional sedan models. All featured styles were designed with the stainless-steel trademark "Fairlane stripe" on the side of the vehicle.

The Ford Fairlane was rather conservative in regard to engineering and general style. A new small block V8 engine assembled at Ford's Windsor, Ontario plant, was the only significant change. It was a thin wall cast block provided for a relatively lightweight yet powerful engine.

The 221 cubic inch V8 became the inspiration for numerous Ford engine models that followed. In some shape, it remained present for over three decades.
For 1957, Ford company decided that a new style would be necessary in order to keep a strong market presence. The style included a longer, wider, lower and sleeker overall look with low tailfins, along with reversed new top trim level.

Engines remained the same as the year before. Fairlane 500 Skyliner power retractable hardtop which was supposed to be number one attraction failed to reflect on sales. Basically, as an option it was quite expensive and unreliable, because when retracted it took up the entire trunk.

Following company policy with successful models since the beginning, the management didn't significantly tamper with the Fairlane's design over the years. The 1962 Ford Fairlane was available as a 4-door Sedan, 2-door Hardtop, and 4-door Station Wagon. Fairlanes were available to the general public as an upgraded basic model and a Sports Coupe version.

At the time sales were good at nearly 300,000 sold units.
In the next few years, Ford designers included more and more performance options for Fairlane models, making them bigger and boxier in comparison to the standard mid-sized car.

The most noticeable change occurred at the rear of the car with the elimination of the tail fins. Subsequently, the model completely redesigned for 1966, thus entering in the muscle car race of the 1960's.
Modern design kept clean lines, more spacious engine bay with the addition of a two modified shock towers equipped with heavy-duty springs, and most importantly a powerful FE big block

V8 engine were the main changes. GT Fairlanes were equipped with a 390 cubic inch V8 engine, upgraded suspension and front disc brakes. At the top of the performance options was the 427 cubic inch V8, which was under a fiberglass hood with a working hood scoop. The body also received GT badges and GT stripes, while the interior featured bucket seats, a console and GT steering wheel.

The high performance change was success as Ford sales numbers were boosted over 317,000 in 1966. Eventually, the Fairlane model began losing the market to competition and in 1967 sales fell significantly to just over 238,000. The answer was another change, but nevertheless Ford Fairlane is definitely remembered as one of the American classics.